Residential and commercial building foundations are commonly comprised of several elements, including a footing which provides a wide, stable base for the perimeter of the building, a vertical wall constructed on top of the footing, and a floor constructed so that the edges of the floor rest on top of the footing and touch or nearly touch the adjacent wall. The footing and the wall, if made from concrete or cement, are constructed by pouring the cementitious material into a form, and allowing it to set and harden in the form.
A problem with this type of construction, however, is that there is an opportunity for water to leak or seep through the foundation. Therefore, perimeter drainage systems have been developed to help prevent water pooling near the foundation, and subsequently to alleviate the problem of water leakage or seepage through the foundation.
Typically, such drainage systems incorporate several elements, including drain tubing or drain tile followed by backfilling with gravel and then soil. The drain tile is generally made from flexible or rigid polyvinylchloride (PVC), or other type plastic tubing having drainage holes located circumferentially along the length of the tube. It is installed in the foundation trench generally adjacent the footing after the concrete or cement has set and the form into which it was poured is stripped away.
Installation of the drainage system in such manner around a foundation or footing requires the steps of digging a trench, building a form, pouring the cementitious material into the form, and allowing it to set or harden. Then, prior to installation of the drain tile, the form, ordinarily made from wood, must be removed. This process of building the form, pouring the cementitious material, and then removing the form adds considerably to the time, and therefore to the cost, of completing the foundation.
It is, therefore, a purpose of this invention to fulfill a need in the art, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices and methods of installation, by providing an integral form and drain tile which may be manufactured by conventional means, and which produces savings in time and cost of completing the construction of a foundation having a perimeter drainage system.